(first published November 22, 2006.) Text has been slightly edited to reflect the passage of time since first publication - in other words, the events described happened a few years ago, not last week. :)
I joined MySpace in 2006 (mainly to get some friends of mine to shut up about it), and during the first few weeks I found it to be …uh… interesting. Bulletins are fun – they’re good for quick notes and news flashes from bands, but more often than not they’re the primary source of many jokes and goofy quizzes. However, some folks seem to think myspace is a free dating service. Just getting messages from guys saying “I’m looking for that special woman” is amusing (esp. when it’s obvious that English isn’t their native tongue), but I find it particularly interesting when these things show up. Timing is everything. When I have a “regular” photo of myself as my default image, I get loads of “hi cutie” messages. However, whenever I change it to something silly or more artistic, that avalanche of messages-from-unknowns screeches to a halt. Literally. You can hear the crickets chirping. Obviously they’re not even looking at the profile info, they’re just looking at the photo. Which, not surprisingly, reminds us of how superficial most guys are. “Uh-oh…she’s got artistic abilities or a sense of humor – stay clear!”
This led me to wonder what are these guys thinking of when they do stuff like this, like when they come out with ridiculous “lines” when on a date. I went out with a guy once who said his favorite type of movies were “romantic” ones (cue the thigh rub). EH? “Romantic movie” my ass! No woman I know is stupid enough to fall for that. No man I know is that stupid. In fact, I even know children who wouldn’t fall for that line. Do they honestly think a modern, intelligent woman would actually like this crap?
Apparently, they would, or they wouldn’t do it!! You see, at some point, this stuff must have worked for them, so naturally they want to try it again. That’s what really bothers me – the fact that somewhere out there is a woman so insecure and/or uneducated that she feels compelled to respond to this kind of shallow, insincere attention. This is just plain wrong. If this woman is an example of what our culture and education system is turning out, then I weep for the republic.
No woman should be so insecure about her abilities, her intelligence level or her looks to accept this kind of BS. Unfortunately, since looks are clearly what guys are most interested in, those women who don’t fit the American standard of attractiveness all too often end up with low self-esteem, and are therefore subject to receiving disingenuous advances from unscrupulous men. Clearly, the solution to this intolerable situation is for guys to pull their heads out of their rears. Looks never last, and lots and lots and lots of money can only delay the inevitable. What’s even worse is when guys complain about not finding a good woman – that’s because they’re focusing on the wrong area! Placing so much importance on temporary, superficial characteristics is an exercise in futility.
I joined MySpace in 2006 (mainly to get some friends of mine to shut up about it), and during the first few weeks I found it to be …uh… interesting. Bulletins are fun – they’re good for quick notes and news flashes from bands, but more often than not they’re the primary source of many jokes and goofy quizzes. However, some folks seem to think myspace is a free dating service. Just getting messages from guys saying “I’m looking for that special woman” is amusing (esp. when it’s obvious that English isn’t their native tongue), but I find it particularly interesting when these things show up. Timing is everything. When I have a “regular” photo of myself as my default image, I get loads of “hi cutie” messages. However, whenever I change it to something silly or more artistic, that avalanche of messages-from-unknowns screeches to a halt. Literally. You can hear the crickets chirping. Obviously they’re not even looking at the profile info, they’re just looking at the photo. Which, not surprisingly, reminds us of how superficial most guys are. “Uh-oh…she’s got artistic abilities or a sense of humor – stay clear!”
This led me to wonder what are these guys thinking of when they do stuff like this, like when they come out with ridiculous “lines” when on a date. I went out with a guy once who said his favorite type of movies were “romantic” ones (cue the thigh rub). EH? “Romantic movie” my ass! No woman I know is stupid enough to fall for that. No man I know is that stupid. In fact, I even know children who wouldn’t fall for that line. Do they honestly think a modern, intelligent woman would actually like this crap?
Apparently, they would, or they wouldn’t do it!! You see, at some point, this stuff must have worked for them, so naturally they want to try it again. That’s what really bothers me – the fact that somewhere out there is a woman so insecure and/or uneducated that she feels compelled to respond to this kind of shallow, insincere attention. This is just plain wrong. If this woman is an example of what our culture and education system is turning out, then I weep for the republic.
No woman should be so insecure about her abilities, her intelligence level or her looks to accept this kind of BS. Unfortunately, since looks are clearly what guys are most interested in, those women who don’t fit the American standard of attractiveness all too often end up with low self-esteem, and are therefore subject to receiving disingenuous advances from unscrupulous men. Clearly, the solution to this intolerable situation is for guys to pull their heads out of their rears. Looks never last, and lots and lots and lots of money can only delay the inevitable. What’s even worse is when guys complain about not finding a good woman – that’s because they’re focusing on the wrong area! Placing so much importance on temporary, superficial characteristics is an exercise in futility.